Running partner
by miyouimi
Summary: Sakura gets stuck being a running partner to the best cross country star of their school, Sasuke Uchiha. She becomes overjoyed and happy to be running with her lifelong crush. There’s only one problem though… She can’t run to save her life.


**A/N: I hope you like it. It came to me one day when I saw the cross country people at our school running.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Narutoooooo.**

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Running Partner 

Why?

Why did cross country have to be compulsory at this school?

It would be better if cross country were never invented…

That wasn't helping my current situation though. Of course you'd expect that with my figure I'd be one of the best runners in the school.

Well, you're wrong.

I've always been the worst runner. I swear, no matter how hard I push my self it's like every time we go out for a run it's like I've gotten worse. Okay, so maybe I don't eat as many veggies and fruits as I should, but I am certainly not fat! Far from it! Just…out of shape. (It's probably all of those Cheetos…. Damn them!)

Of course you can expect who the star cross-country runner of this school is. Sasuke Uchiha of course… My life long crush! He's got this awesome black hair and these onyx eyes that are just to die for. He's well built and has and his face is so handsome!

He's never really noticed me though and I'm way to shy to say anything. Ino, my Bff, encourages me to say something or strike up a conversation with him but I'm too shy. He's the number one runner and I'm the worst runner.

That reeeeally doesn't work.

Ino was all like, 'Well, you never know. Opposites attract,'

I just looked at her with a disbelieving face. Sasuke has never dated anyone even though so many girls went after him each day. He said that girls to him are pointless and that all he wants to focus on is running. Must be why he's so good…. I guess that maybe if I focused less on him I could be a better runner. And if I only trained more…

Yeah, right. I have no will power really to be running in my free time since it's something I reeeeeally despise. Ino of course loves it and can't get enough of it. She always encourages me to go running with her and I'm always like, 'you're kidding, right?'

She always beats me up for eating junk food. How can you resist! It's like…. too good to describe. She doesn't care much for the stuff though, but every once in awhile you'll catch her munching down a bag of delicious chips. She gets ashamed after eating just one, just one, bag of chips so after that she goes running. I've had to roll my eyes at that many times.

Apart from Ino being just my friend, there's also Naruto. Naruto…. how to describe him. Fun to be around, but sometimes has an explosive personality. He has the bluest eyes you'd ever seen and this bright, yellowish, spiky hair that looks quite good. We've been friends for the longest time and he recently revealed to me that he's had this crush on one of my other friends, Hinata. I was so ecstatic!

I couldn't believe it when I heard! He tried to shush me down and tell me to please not mention anything to her, but I was just so…. Surprised! Hinata has always been a shy girl and sometimes I'd catch her looking at Naruto, but I've never really figured out if she liked him or not. Now I knew that he liked her and I started to think of devious plans to try to get the two together.

Oh, I forgot to describe out school! Beautiful, it's absolutely beautiful. Even though it's a boarding school and apart from running, it's been a great school. Wonderful hills surround the school that it look absolutely gorgeous and quaint. My parents sent me to this wondrous Konoha academy the day I turned fifteen. How nice of them… They were always too busy to take care of me anyway, so I really didn't mind. I'm glad I came here anyway.

I love my friends and the classes, just not this damn running. When I first came I heard nothing about cross country, but one day I found my self whisked outside and forced to run. I tried everything after that to get out of running, but evidently the nurse really doesn't believe me anymore, so I'm stuck with it.

I once faked an asthma attack in front of her and told her I couldn't run. She just laughed at my stupidity and walked out of the room. Nothing gets past her! I swear… It was a very believable one too! I was wheezing and the whole deal… Guess she's seen a real asthma attack before. Go figure.

I feel like I have asthma every time I run though! (Exaggerating drama queen.) The cross-country coach, Gai, pushes me too much. He kept talking about the power of youth and exercise and health and some other crap. I swear, if he tells me to run faster one more time, I'm going to punch his lights out.

The worst thing is that he's a teacher too! An English teacher! Why are coaches always English teachers? He always feels the need to correct me on everything in that class. Oh and his pet, Rock Lee, is annoying as hell. He's just as athletic and was the best runner in this school before Sasuke came along. Sasuke…. He's perfect in everything and so handsome.

Did I forget Rock Lee professes his love for me almost every day? It bugs the hell outta me! But, I can't be mean to the kid. He really does mean well overall, even if he does like that stupid coach.

The other teachers at Konoha academy aren't so bad though, like Kakashi. All of the younger girls in the school giggle when they're around him and say that they are all in love with him. I mean, he's not bad looking for a teacher, but it's just weird. I would say he is my best teacher though. He's cool and makes everyone laugh at his jokes.

He doesn't give that much work either! That's what's so great, even if he is the science teacher. One day, when we had to learn about 'The subject' once again, he said, 'we all know about how it works already. But if you don't… God help you.' To that, we all burst out in laughter.

Besides that all my other classes and teachers are fine. The principle of our school is the famous Tsunade though. She's strict, but mostly nice all of the time. She absolutely adores me for some reason. Maybe it's because my parents are rich… Who knows…

Oh! I almost forgot to introduce myself! My name is Sakura Haruno. I'm fifteen with silky, long pink hair and emerald colored eyes. I have a nice figure, just not the skill to run. I'm not too short, (Shorter than Sasuke) but I'm not too tall either.

Anyways here I was, running. Yes, running. The thing I despise. And Gai was by my side again, yelling in my ear about the power of youth. I took in a deep breath, but wasn't getting the oxygen that my body needed. I clenched my teeth at Gai's words. Why wouldn't the man just shut up!

Of course Sasuke had probably already finished the miles required in the fastest time. But here I was, in dead last again. The fat kid was even doing better than me! Naruto and Ino had encouraged me at the beginning to run faster but I just told them to run ahead and they couldn't help but oblige. They loved running.

Gai started yelling stupid things again and I tried to pick up the pace to show that I was better than that. I couldn't keep it up and slowed down…

"Come on! You can do it! Don't disappoint yourself!" he chanted which I once again ignored. The hill came up next and I whimpered. I hated that hill. (Emphasis on 'hated') No wonder why it was called 'Killer'. It literally killed me every time I tried to go up it! And it was so steep too!

I trudged up the hill as best as I could, but I was running out of breath. Gai just bounded up the hill happily and disappeared at the top. He loves this hill… I swear. I groaned as I felt my self slowing down. I managed to make it to the top eventually and then it was downhill from there! Yes! I almost skipped down the hill, happy that it was almost over!

"Yes!" I said to my self. I had to be careful though, this path was through a forest and there were tree roots everywhere. I skipped along more though, carelessly this time because it was all almost over. Not that I was making at total fool out of myself by skipping, but since I was at the end and no one was around, I did it anyway.

But my carelessness only brought me pain… Because the next time I skipped, I tripped on a tree root, the very thing I was afraid of tripping on. Down I fell and landed hard on one of my knees while I managed to catch myself with my hand. I winced at the pain that had grown in my knee.

"Owww," I whined; it hurt so badly. I got up shakily, but was faced with collapsing back down for a second. I got up again and looked down at it, it was covered with dirt and some blood trickled down my leg slowly. The dirt made it sting and I let out a cry of despair. I tried to walk forward so I could get some help, but I staggered a little.

I finally decided I couldn't stay in there forever and I took up a fast walk, despite the pain. When I finally got to the opening, everyone had already finished. I walked fast to the finish line but people had already seen the blood on my knee and were rushing to me asking all kinds of questions.

I heard some whispers among the crowd though as I sat on the ground to nurture my hurt knee. 'She just did that to get attention,' or 'She hates running so much she hurt herself to get out of it.' Of course by then I pretty much figured out who it was and sent a death glare in their direction. By that time though Naruto and Ino had run to my side the minute they spotted blood.

"Sakura, Sakura! Are you okay?" Naruto asked frantically, examining my knee.

"Yeah, I'm fine! Don't worry," I shrugged it off. It kept bleeding though and Ino suggested putting pressure on it.

"Sakura, you should really put pressure on that!" Ino said worriedly and looked down at the dirty bloody mess.

"No, it's fine! I swear!"

"Sakura, listen to me. It's a pretty deep cut, even if it doesn't look like it," she said firmly. She crossed her arms and I just sighed. People crowded around me to look at my wound and I just looked away, ashamed and embarrassed.

"Break it up!" a familiar voice then said. The students immediately complied and Gai came rushing to Sakura.

"My dear, where does it hurt?" he asked drastically and the students dispersed away to talk amongst themselves.

Are you kidding? He had to be joking. My knee was basically gushing blood and all he asked was where does it hurt?! This guy…. was something else. I just pointed to my knee and sighed.

He examined it carefully before shouting, "Does anyone have a towel!" I turned red immediately and hid my face, closing my eyes. Why does he have to be so loud about it?

Without my knowing, Sasuke was surprisingly the only one prepared enough to have a towel. He came over and handed it to Gai.

"Here," was all he said.

I recognized that voice and I immediately opened my eyes. I looked up and saw none other than the amazing Sasuke Uchiha! I was so surprised! Sasuke was there and he had offered a towel for my sake! I turned even redder and averted my gaze, looking at my knee.

Gai just thanked him and he just shrugged it off as it were nothing, walking off. Gai then took the towel and did something I really wanted to punch him for. He took the towel and forcefully took my leg, wrapping the towel around the wound securely. I could've screamed from pain, but my face just scrunched up and I took the pain.

"There, that sound keep it from bleeding anymore right now." He smiled one of his signature smiled and helped me up.

"We'll have to get you to the nurse," he mentioned. I let out a deep sigh, that lay probably really doesn't want to see me.

"Sasuke!" Gai called, looking over at the Uchiha who was leaning against a tree, waiting to be dismissed for the day. I looked up at Gai frantically, why was he calling Sasuke?! I freaked out a little and wanted to run away, but I stood there solid like a statue.

Sasuke complied with Gai calling him and walked back over to both of them.

"Hn?" he asked in his sort of I-really-don't-care mutter.

"Since you gave this girl you're towel, it's only polite to escort her to the nurse's office," he suggested and Sasuke just nodded. What was this, A dance?! Why did he have to make it sound weird with that stupid escorting crap? I was secretly thrilled with the idea of spending time with Sasuke though. I internally squealed happily.

'I can't believe it!' I thought loudly. I stood there dumbfounded though and just stared at him for a second with a disbelieving face. I shook my head though and looked at the ground. Don't act stupid in front of him! I could feel my heart beat rise and it felt like my heart wanted to jump out of my chest.

"U-ummm, I'll walk as best as I can," I said quietly.

"Hn, just not too slow," he mumbled and made me put an arm around his shoulders as he put his arm around my waist to help support me while walking. I blushed yet again and looked away from the sudden contact. He felt so warm as his body rubbed against mine when he helped me walk along. His touch was so gentle and soft as well that I just felt like wrapping my arms around him and cuddling him.

I knew that wouldn't happen though. Daydreaming never gets you anywhere and it's never true. It's basically lying to you in a way. I walked along as fast as my injured leg could carry me and his strong arms supported me the whole way to the nurse's office. But on the way there I tried to strike up a conversation before this lovely dream ended.

"U-umm," I spoke up.

He looked down at me with that handsome face of his and quirked an eyebrow. "What?"

"S-sorry that you have to take me all the way to the nurse's office," I stuttered slightly and got pissed at myself.

"That's alright, but you should really watch where you're running."

I found out that when Sasuke wanted to, he would actually talk to people. Of course it seemed like he could be really cold and mean to people sometimes, but it really did seem some where deep down that he could be nice at times. He wasn't mean to me just because I was probably the slowest runner in the school and he certainly didn't look like he didn't give a damn at all. He didn't looked like cared much either though, so he was just neutral sort of.

"Well, thank you," I said with more confidence. Sasuke didn't say anything, but just gave a small nod. After that we didn't talk until we got to the office.

When we got there he brought me to a chair and I sat down in it.

"Well goodbye I guess," I smiled.

"Bye…" was his reply and he just left. I let out a deep sigh as I saw the nurse approach me, rolling her eyes.

"What did you do this time Sakura?"

This was certainly going to be a long day.

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Later that evening when I was in my room with Ino, which we share because we're roommates, I had spilled the whole story of Sasuke walking me down to the nurse's office. She said she just 'had' to know after she saw Sasuke walking away with me. After I finished it she had let out a loud squeal.

"I can't believe it! He actually had an arm around you! That's so cute!" she basically almost screamed. I couldn't help but blush at the thought.

"Well I guess…"

"Ooooo! Come on Sakura! You had to have loved it!"

"Well…I mean…"

"Sakura!" she squealed again and I just shushed her down. I immediately heard a knock on the door after I tried to shush Ino up. I jumped up from my bed that I was sitting on and went to answer it. I opened it up and surprise! It was Naruto!

"Naruto!" I smiled. "What're you doing here?"

"I came over to see your knee, hear the latest and talk to you about…well… you know."

I just laughed slightly and smiled at him. "My knee is fine. Alright, come on in," I said and motioned him to come on in. He obliged and bounded in the room, diving onto my bed. Boys really aren't allowed to be in the girls rooms because of school rules, but Naruto has come in here billions of times and we've never been caught.

"Naruto! I told you not to do that with your filthy body!" I cried out loud as he rolled around on my bed.

"I am not filthy!" he argued.

Ino watched the two argue and she just laughed. "Naruto lets just say you're more filthy than us and let's keep it at that," she suggested. He nodded and rolled off the bed and onto the floor.

"Your room smells like flowers..."

"Well it is a girls room, dummy," I giggled and closed the door, going to sit back down on my bed.

"Yeah, I guess. Well, anyway, how did your little meeting with the Uchiha idiot go?"

"Naruto!" I screeched and threw a teddy bear that was on my bed at him. Naruto has also known about my crush on Sasuke for the longest time. Even before Ino! Even though he does have a big mouth, you can trust him not to say anything.

"It went fine," I answered quietly. "And don't call him an idiot!"

Naruto just mocked me and laughed, throwing the teddy bear back on my bed. "He is," Naruto mumbled.

I let out a sigh and looked at him. "Well…" I raised my eyebrows. "How are you getting along with…?"

Naruto just sighed the second I started. "Sakura! I don't know what to say to her! Every time I get close to her I run away!"

Ino knew whom Naruto liked too and she listened in. "Maybe if one of us talks to Hinata…"

"No! I have to do it myself!" he protested

"You never take help, do you?

He just shook his head. "Nope! This is my problem and I can't get other people to tell her I like her, I've got to do it directly!"

I laughed slightly, but secretly admired Naruto's confidence with all of this. If someone told me they could help me be with Sasuke, I'd take that help in a second!

"Okay, that's great Naruto. I hope that you talk to her soon!" I smiled and Naruto just grinned. "Wait, what class do you have her in?" I asked.

"Science, why?" he wondered, confused.

"Next time you have an experiment, ask her if you want to be partners!" I proudly announced.

Naruto sat upright. "That sounds great! What a good idea! I don't know what I do if you weren't around Sakura!" he smiled and jumped up.

"Really?" I innocently said with a flattered tone.

Naruto just laughed and ruffled my hair up, which I hated, and headed for the door.

"Well, it's late, so I should really be going." He opened it up and we said our good byes happily and with that, he left.

Ino and I talked for a little while later before going to bed so we could get up early for the next school day.

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'Beep!'

' Beep!'

'Slam!'

Silence…

20 minutes later…

"Shit!" I heard from across the room. "Sakura!" I heard a screech. "Did you turn the alarm clock off again?!"

Oh shit…

I shot up quickly and looked at the frantic Ino and then the clock. Oh no! If we didn't get ready quickly, we'd be late for school! I've done this about three times this year, but I really couldn't help it. That damn alarm clock was just so annoying!

"Umm sorry?" I said innocently. Ino looked at me with daggers in her eyes. She was so scary in the morning!

"Bye!" I stated quickly and ran into the bathroom to get ready as fast as I could.

"Sakura!" I heard from outside the bathroom. Ino was really mad now…. she was growling.

Uh-oh. I hurried as fast as I could and applied my make-up. I didn't know what to do with my long pink hair so I just put them in two low, loose, messy pigtails. I slipped on our uniform and opened the door quickly to a fuming Ino. Her anger drained away when she saw me though.

"Sakura! You look so cute today!" she chanted. "I love it when you're hair is like that! You should wear it like that more often," she suggested before slipping into the bathroom to get ready. I went to a mirror and looked at myself in it. I guess I did look kinda cute today…

I shook my head and Ino came out of the bathroom a couple minutes later. "Okay, let's go!" she said hurriedly. We only really had about…. let's say two minutes to get to class.

Yep, we're gonna be late.

We ran out of out room, locked the door, and hurried to class quickly. With my hurt knee, which had some bandages around it, it really wasn't helping our current situation since it was slowing me down. We did manage to get to class… But we were a minute late.

Unfortunately, we have English in the morning with Gai. I hate mornings! He said that we had to see him after class just because we were a minute (Yes exactly one minute) late. How ridiculous! I really don't like that class. At least Sasuke is in there.

I sat down in my seat and pouted immensely. Ino turned around for a minute and just giggled at my cute pout face. I did that every time I didn't get my way. I then surveyed the room and my eyes guided me to over at where Sasuke usually sits. My eyes met with his onyx eyes and I quickly looked away. I hope he didn't see! He was looking over here in the first place though.

I wonder why he was looking at me? I felt my cheeks start to burn and I looked up at Gai as he was teaching. Class went by very slow and I got so bored. I hate English! The bell finally decided to ring and I let out a large sigh of relief to get out of this class so I could go to my next one.

Most of my classes had pretty much the same people in it since there wasn't that many people in the grade anyway. Naruto and Sasuke were in my next class but sadly Ino was somewhere else. But by third period we were together again. I got up and went to walk out, but Gai stopped me.

Shoot, I thought I could get out of his lecture.

"Ino, you may go," he told her. "I need to talk to you though Sakura." Ino looked at him quizzically and then at me. I shrieked a soundless help, but she just shrugged and walked out of the room to her next class. Pssh… some friend. After all of the students left, Gai looked at me seriously.

"Sakura, when are you going to start taking cross country seriously? I know you have the potential to apply yourself to be a great runner, but you don't seem to be pushing yourself enough."

Great, that's why I'm staying after class…. because of stupid cross country. Why did he have to bring it up during school time anyway?

"Sir, in truth, I'm not a great runner at all," I mumbled quietly.

"You see! You're cutting yourself down! Take to the power of youth!" he bellowed, grinning.

I gave him a confused look. "Sorry sir, but I'm not really following." I really just wanted to get out of this class.

Now.

"May I leave?" I asked politely.

"No, because I have some important news to tell you," he grinned.

I looked even more confused now. Just what 'news' could he tell me?

"I've assigned you a running partner!" he announced happily.

My eyes shot up to him quickly. What? What?! How could he do this without asking me first? I cried internally; it was probably the fat kid.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

"Who is it?" I asked shakily as I bit my quivering bottom lip.

"The number one cross country star of course." He gave thumbs up as my eyes widened.

It couldn't be.

"Sasuke Uchiha," he told me calmly. I felt faint, literally. My heart beat faster at the sound of his name.

I replied to this with a loud outburst, "WHATTTT?!"

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**I hope you like it. Took me awhile to write. Since these chapters are going to be longer than any of my other stories, it might take a little longer to update. **


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